Recently, technologies in which wide gap semiconductors such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) are used as substrates in power semiconductor devices have been the focus attention.
However, wide gap semiconductor devices generally have a lower resistance to static electricity than silicon semiconductor devices. This condition remains unchanged even when the wide gap semiconductor device is contained in a resin-sealed semiconductor package.
To improve the resistance of the semiconductor package to static electricity, a method exists whereby an external protective circuit is installed with the semiconductor package. However, such techniques require extra work and lead to an increase in cost.